Wedoany.com Report-Aug. 20, ASP Isotopes, a U.S.-based advanced materials company, and its subsidiary Quantum Leap Energy LLC have signed a non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Fermi America to explore developing a high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) production facility in Texas, USA. The agreement, announced recently, focuses on using laser-based isotope separation technology to produce HALEU, containing 5-20% uranium-235, for small modular reactors.

ASPI Executive Vice President Donald Ainscow, Chairman and CEO Paul Mann, Fermi America Chief Nuclear Construction Officer Mesut Uzman and Quantum Leap Energy CEO Ryno Pretorius at the signing ceremony in Texas

The MoU envisions a joint venture between Quantum Leap Energy and Fermi America to research, develop, and construct a facility capable of producing significant quantities of HALEU. The facility will also support uranium product conversion, deconversion, and fuel assembly fabrication. Fermi America will handle securing necessary licenses, permits, and regulatory approvals. Additionally, ASP Isotopes plans to lease a separate facility in Texas, fully owned by the company, for research and commercial production of stable isotopes and advanced materials.

“This decision helps ensure that America’s next generation of nuclear reactors will be powered by American innovation, technology, and resolve,” said Toby Neugebauer, co-founder and CEO of Fermi America. The project builds on ASP Isotopes’ expertise, rooted in South African uranium enrichment programs from the 1980s, using its Aerodynamic Separation Process and Quantum Enrichment laser-based techniques for precise isotope separation.

ASP Isotopes has prior agreements with TerraPower LLC for HALEU supply from a planned facility in Pelindaba, South Africa, including initial fuel for TerraPower’s Natrium project in Wyoming and a 10-year, 150-tonne HALEU supply starting in 2028. The Texas facility would be Quantum Leap Energy’s second HALEU production site. The company is also in talks with the UK government for a similar facility and plans to list Quantum Leap Energy on NASDAQ in the fourth quarter of this year.

“Our goal is to scale our technologies as quickly as possible to reduce the bottleneck on the nuclear fuel industry and unlock clean American nuclear energy that will provide consistent, base load power, not only for AI but millions of Americans,” said Ryno Pretorius, CEO of Quantum Leap Energy.

Earlier this year, Fermi America announced plans for an 11-gigawatt private grid campus in Amarillo, Texas, in collaboration with the Texas Tech University System, featuring four AP1000 nuclear units with potential for advanced reactor integration. The proposed HALEU facility would enhance this campus as a clean energy and nuclear fuel hub, supporting job creation and sustainable energy innovation in Texas.